The Sun. — London, England, 1818-09-21 00:00:00

LITERARY REVIEW. ORIGIN of the PINDARIEti ; preceded by historical Notes on the Rise of the different Mahratta States.—By an OF- EctER. in the Service of the Honourable EAST INDIA COMPANY. [Continued from Saturday's SU " When the Itibbreea arrives at the place trhere he intends to take up his quarters, he fixes leis s! , indard in the ground and dismounts ; those liehiod immediately begin to collect forage as the signal for a general halt :—every one pasSes be yond the leader, who is thus left in the rear of the whole. The men of each thok keep as close together as possible, and in this respect resemble the highland clans of Scotland, as they are all either kinsmen, friends, or dependents of the tbokdar. No other kind of order is observed in their encampment—no guards are posted, no scouts sent out---but the lubbreea is expected' to watch for the safety of all ; which,, as he cannot do by personal observation, be resorts to the-frequent .tulis or changes of position already noticed. So insufficient a precaution exposes them to be sur prised ; and recent experience has shewn, that, both during their mid-day halts and night encamp ments, they are extremely liable to be taken un awares, and effectually assailed. It is, however, generally in their advance, and when free ifroM apreliension, - that they scatter themselves so withlv over the face of the country. In their re- treat they proceed more compactly, and, if pur sued,' make marches of an extraordinary length., As their object is not fighting, but plunder, they hare seldom been known to resist the attack of even an inferior enemy; and, if they are over.' taken, they disperse, and re‘assemble at some ap-, pointed rendezvous ; or, it followed into their own country, through all their windings and doub lings, and endless lulls, they immediately retire to their respective homes, They find protection either in the Vindhya mountains, in castles be.; longing to themselves, or from those Mahratta powers with whom they are openlybr secretlyeon meted; of these Scin;:iate and Holkar are the chief—to the former the most formidable branch of the Pindarries is attached, and not unfrecineutly exercises over his affairs an ascendancy, like that of the Roman soldiery, or the Srrelitzes and Ja nizaries of modern times. " In all their expeditions the majority are mounted on a small, strong, and extremely active race of horses, on which they bestow the utmost care, especially in regard to their food, giving them the best of every kind of grain they can pro cure, raw : though in a period of distress, these animals are trained to undergo the same privations as their masters. It is a common opinion that the Pindarries give their horses large quantities of opium, to enable - them to bear the fatigue to which they are constantly exposed ; but this ap pears, from the best information that we can ob tain, an erroneous idea. The prisoners universally state' that such is not their practice. After a vet y laborious, march, and when their cattle are much tircd, those who have the means give them a small quantity, (about half a Iola,) made into a ball wish some flour and a little ginger, or some other stimulant. This is the only occasion when opium is administered, except in cases of illness. Gram is seldom given, as they think it liable to disagree with their small cattle, unless boiled. Their usual pace is between a walk and a trot ; they very rarely gallop. Like the Arabs, by constant practice, they,acctire a perfect ma nagement of their steeds, but make no study of borsemansitip as a science. It, the day-time they take off the saddles, but never unsaddle during the night ; on the contrary, they always sleep with the bridles in their hands, and are in this re spect,ever prepared for battle or flight, or rather for the latter, since on the slightest alarm, they - spring on the horses, and are out of sight in an instant. It may be observed, that they breed few horses themselves, but either procure them in their incursions, or'are supplied by the MaltrattaS from the large herds reared in Malwa. The propor tion these different sources of mounting their cavalry may be approximated by stating, that, in the party commanded by Buksoo, which_ entered the Deccan in 1816, amounting to between two thousand and two thousand five hundred, there were not more than one thousand of the best de scription of horses, the remainder being a breed of hardy galloways. The speed of his horse is the great security of a Pindarry; while he pos sesses that animal no danger appals him, and it is therefore almost the sole object of his regard ; Dolling argues greater negligence, nothing carries with it greater disgrace, than the loss of his horse, on which it is figuratively imagined he should al ways be mounted : no success can afterwards wipe away the reproach. " The arms of the Pindarry are a lance or a spear, and a sword, which he wields with admir able dexterity, though not exercised in that art ; they are nevertheless fully sensible of the great advantage fo'he derived from the use of fire-arms, but very few of them carry matchlinks, on ac count of the inconvenience, resulting from their weight, They feel their inequality in this respect, and, from their learnt musketry, seldom venture to attack a place so defended. " Having from the work before us, and from more fall -end recent information of our own, on which we can perfectly rely, described the mode of warfare, the habits, and arms of this extraor dinary race of men, we shall now proceed to take a more distinct view of the moral and physical qualities of the men themselves, and add a brief biogrephy of their chiefs. " The Pindarries seem to possess several of those qualities which we most prize in a soldier —ccurage, and confidence in their leader, to fol low hint through the greatest perils, strengths of body to undergo the utmost privations and fa tigues, and fortitude to-endure them without re pining. Uneemitted exercise invigorates their lin-Ass, and enables them to sustain hardships un der which stronger men would perish. Their manner of life, ever various and exposed to risk, inspires them wilt a promptitude to act decisively in, the - most trying moments ; and in situations where others - , would tamely surrender from des ' pair, they find n resource in theirinvincible spirit,. and hope of safety by flight. At timex they wal. lew in abundance, while at other times they are destitute of common necessaries ; het they do not sink in despondency. On the contrary, we may form some idea of their personal intrepidity and constancy, from the resolution which instigates them to undertake journies to so great a distance from their homes, and through the midst of ar mies of whose superior prowess and power they have had incontestihle proofs. Wormed on their small horses, frequently heavy laden, without any other guide than the intelligence of their Lob breea, they pass over an incredible tract of coun try, generally in bodies not exceeding two or three thousand men', bolding an undeviating Course until they reach their destinations The adven turous spirit of their leviers stimulates them to enterprizes which to-weaker minds would appear impracticable, hut in which they are well second ed by the devotio6 of their adherents. Their ab stinencse is often extraordinary. In a retreat their food is frequentlY nothing more than corn plucked from the fiestas •as they pass; and separated from tire chaff by rubbing between the hands. This, with a little water, is the only sustenance they can procure, till they attain some place of'com ,parative- security, when they again begin their ravages, and go on plundering friend,_ and foes indiscriminately all the way to their own country. The worst feature Of their character 'is displayed on these occasions. They every where commit the-most dreadfuhepormities, arid it may justly be said that all their good qoalitiesare obliterated by their cruelty and barbarity. Their progress is almost always marked by the smoking ruins of villages, the shrieks of women, and ahe groans of etheir mutilated husbands. .What they cannot re- Move is reinorselessli destroyed ; and it has truly ' , been observed, that were such pests permitted to continue their merciless depredations without molestation, the peninsula of India would in time become a desert, and the few inhabitants that survived the general wreck a hand of savage aed licent ions robbers.' Happily for the coun tries subject to their inroads, their stay in one place is but for a few hours, and two or three months the usual limiteof their expeditions. It•bas been supposed; from tire apparent di reetnesssaf their operations, that their information regarding the countries through which they pass, and at which their ravages are aimed, is unusually correct ; but there are many instances in which chance rather than settled design has been their guide. They have no funds wherewith to pay the services of spies, but in their route they seize whomsoever the fortune of war throws in their way, and from the prisoners gather those parti culars with which they wish to be acquainted. The probability of a large booty is the first sub ject of their inquiry, and the next the number of troops and quantity of fire-arms by which they are likely to be opposed. That the replies to these investigations, rather than previous intelli gence, influence their motions, we would not state in opposition to the generally received opi nion, were we unable to bring forward some pt oof in support of our theory. '1 he following inci dent, among several others of the same kind, has been related , to us :- 7 -Wheo Buksoo, in 1816, crossed.the Nerbuddah, his only intention was to have plundered the Nizam's country, between the Kistnah and Godavery, but on crossing the latter river he was met by a faqueer, who informed Jelin of the rich tress of the country round Gun toor, and of the facility with which it might be plundered, from there being no troops in the neighbourhood. The offer of condecting him thi ther was immediately accepted, all the former plans were changed or relingeished,'Gurrtoor be came the object of cupidity, and the laqtieer rode on horseback at the head of the toll,' by the side of Buksoo, through a circuitous route of above 700 miles. They laid waste the Northern Cir cars nearly tip to Calcutta, and afters tire eomple thin of the business, a voluntary contribution of 1200 or 1500 rupees was raised among them, and given, as the reward of his services, to the fa queer, who, on the retreat of the toll,' went on a pilgrimage to Muck wanpoor. " On this occasion, they collected an immen sity of plunder, and perpetrate 4 the most horrible cruelties. And it should be recollected, that they bad been making similar incursions into the do minions of our allies ever since the year 1811. In 1814 they entered the prosince of Behar, .and up to the period . of which we have . been treating, twice invaded the Madras territories. it the last inroad 1 inroad their augmented numbers and wanton atro cities threw the whole southern part of the pe ninsula into a state of alarm. Passing without opposition or difficulty through the states of the Peishwalr and the Nizans, they spread themselves over the face of the country, and carried fire and sword almost from one end to the other of the district of Genial)). On their_return home, laden with the spoil awl stained with the blood of our subjects, we have the satisfaction to say that se veral parties of them were overtaken and defeated by the Company's troops, against whom they were not able to contend. The success of our de tachments under Majors Lushington, Smith, and Macdowall, as well as of the Sepoys under Lieut. Borthwick, in the southern part of India, and the , equally brilliant exploits of several Officers of tire Po. -gal army, had a 'very salutary ieouence in checking the boldness of the enemy, inspiring our own force with confidence, and convincing the Native Powers that we still preserved our an cient superiority in arms and the art of war." [To be continued.] INDIA, Madras Gazettes have arrived to the 21st of March. Though of a much carli.'r date than those from which we have lhtely given some ex tracts, they are not without interest. The af flicting intelligence of our national visitation, in the death of the Princess CHARLovu, had but just reached our Indian territories,. and we select several accounts which show that the calamity was felt with a degree of bitterness and sorrow which distance could not alleviate. MADRAS, MARCH 21.--In consequence of the mournful intelligence received by the overland dispatch, the performance at the Race Stand Theatre will be postponed until further notice. No further particulars, regarding the tnelan choly event, announced in our Gazelle Extra of Monday hut, Ne since' transpired. Oa the 're'- ceipt of ti►e mournful intelligence alluded to, mi- ' nute guns were fired from the garrison, and the Fort flag was hoisted half-mast the whole of the day. Public notice has been given, that the Right Hon. the Governor expects all British sub jects at this Presidency and its dependencies ."‘ will immediately put themselves into mourning, on occasion of the much-lamented death of her Royal Highness the late Princess Charlotte of Wales." On Wednesday we received a Bom bay Courier Extra of the 28th ult. of which the following is a copy : Bombay Castle, Feb. 2S, ISIS. PUBLIC DEPARTMENT.—MINUTES OF COUNCIL. The Right Honourable the Governor in Council announces, with the deepest concern, the receipt, late last night, of an official communication from Henry Willock, Esq. his Majesty's Charge d'Af faires at Tehran, forwarding a copy of a dispatch dated the 15th of December, from his Excellency, Sir Robert Liston, K. C. B. hi 3 Majesty's Ambas sador at the Porte, conveying the afflicting intel ligence of the death of her Royal Highness the Princess Charlotte of Wales, in child-bit th, be tween the sth and 6th of November, when her Royal Highness was delivered of a still-born male child. The Governor in Council directs that the flag.at thy Castle be hoisted half-staff high at sun-rise to morrow morning, and that minute-guns, to the number of 22, be fired from Hornby's Battery on the flag being hoisted ; that the same ceremony be oh - set veil by the Honourable Company's cruisers in the harbour, the minute guns being taken up on the termination of those from the garrison, and continued under such arrangements as the Su perintendant of the Marine may direct. The flag to be hoisted half-staff high, and 22 minute guns to he fired at every station subor dinate to this Government, on the receipt of these orders. The Governor in Council directs, that mourn ing be worn for a period of six weeks by the Officers of his Majesty's and the Honourable Company's Civil, Military, and Marine services at this Presidency from this date ; an example which he hopes will be followed by every class of British subjects, in manifestation of those feelings of mournful regret for the untimely death of a Princess whose eminent virtues had endeared her to her Country, and in whose existence the hopes and happiness of the British Nation were so uni versally and justly reposed. Ordered, that these Resolutions be published in General Orders from the Military Department. By order of the Right Hon. the Governor in Council. FRANCIS WARDEN, Chief Secretary to Government. CORONERS. On Thursday last en inquest was held at the White Lion Inn. Barton-upon-Humber, by MAR MADUKE DIXON, Gent. Coroner, of Castor, on the body of Ann Jubb, widow of that place, aged 83, who was found dead in her home the pre ceding day. From the evidence produced, added to tke testimony of Mr. Hays, surgeon, the Jolty, without hesitation, returned their verdict—Died, by the visitation of God, of apoplexy. After the verdict had been recorded, one of the Jurors in treated the professional advice of the Coroner on the subject of Inquests. He observed, " a very general opinion prevailed that it was a palpable absurdity in sending for the Coroner on the present occasion, more especially as the deceased was far advanced in years, and it was so decidedly appa rent to her relatives, and many of the inhabitants also, by what means she came to her death. Some of the assembled Jury questioned the propriety of what had been clone, and the discussion - which had taken place thereon subjected the person with whom the present inquest originated to much severe animadversion. It was also ima gined, and the supposition had been acted on at • Barton, that a person dying suddenly in the pre sence of friends, associates, or other respectable witnesses, rendered a coroner's inquest - equally unnecessary. Under such circumstances, there fore, it was of importance to him as Coroner and his deelaratir of the law relative to such cases became extremely desirable information for \ the forme government of his .brother Jurors, and the public in general."—Mr. Dixon 'immediately replied as follows—" Gentlemen, I ant glad that this opportunity is afforded toe to deliver my sen timents on the subject, because I find erroneous opinions are entertained concerning inquests, and without my explanation might probably hereafter produce very unpleasant consequences. In re ference to the present misfortune, the person who took the trouble of sending for me I am greatly obliged to ; he is justly deserving of my thanks, for having, as 'h. appears, fearlessly taken - the re sponsibility on himself. In so . doing, I beg dis tinctly to state before you, that he has performed a necessary and imperious &lily. I boldly assert, without the fear of contradiction, and it cannot be too generally known, that in all cases of sud den death, whether happening when the person is alone at the time, or expires before a hundred witnesses, the Coroner is to be acquainted there with, that he may have the opportunity of in quiring and ascertaining by a jury in the ordinary way, how, when, and by what means such death is occasioned. Placed at a distance, as I generally am, from such fatal occurrences, I must be supposed a stranger to the particulars relating thereto, and I beg to inform you, that by neglecting to comply with this specific regula tion of the act of Parliament, should it come to my knowledge, I possess the power of demanding the disinterment of the corpse, and of holding an inquest thereon : the parish is also liable to an in dictment and severe penalty. Gentlemen, the law is peremptory, and by virtue of my oath as Co roner, and as a matter of conscience, I am bound to do my duty. You will consequently under stand, in reference to the cases which have been very properly stated to me, that an inquest on all such occasions is indispensible. I have not given you garbled extracts in fortii - eranee of any sinister views ; the:small emolument derived from my Of fice renders it no temptation to exercise my pri• vilege arbitrarily., was I so disposed. I trust, therefore, Gentlemen, you will all be inclined to obey the explication I have given, and join with me in adopting the maxim, that the obligations of-duty are, and ought to be, paramount to every pecuniary consideration."—(Doncaster, Nutting ham, - and'Lincola Gazette, Sept. 18.) OLD BAILEY. BANK FORGERIES. Linde& On Saturday the following, baring P 14 5 guilty to the minor offences of liA.tngforge dll° in - their possession, were sec-crally sen t e nced I ° l o3, years' transportation :--Maria %V ila " Charter, William .Wilkes, James Sewell, .I°' Dunn, James .Dales, Jane Williams, Sarah Ire" land, Charles Handscomb, John Anderson, g e , 11 ,1 Way, John Watson, Benjamin Tatham gril Thomas Owen, William Quin, Thomas Seern7„4 ' James Wolfe, Joseph 'ruttier, William Saddle° Edward New, and Joseph -Longwood. 1,1)! Common Sergeant pronounced theisentence of IP7 Court ou e prisoners. John Th th omas Littleton Burton Williams, a sb a r, maker, aged 20, was indicted for burgl a rioils 7 breaking and entering the house of Debou se ; at Edmonton, during the night of the 9th of Pile last, and stealing various• articles of we 6riii 't apparel and plate. The Jury found the priscPsj , Guilt The prisoner then stood indicted for a burg l3l 7 in the house of John Catchpole, on Winch , ";; hill, on the 25th of June, and stealing a (1 0811t h "4 of plate, a watch, and some wearing apparel, "" property. The Jury found Guilty. for Thomas Winks, a coachman, was indictel• n i stealing eleven one pound notes, the proper t % Matthew Brady, on the 28th of August. It 9 r; peared that the prosecutor, who is servant t°,o Mr. Spencer, at Ealing, had hired the coach o li o the defendant drove, and which belongs t ° famous Caleb Baldwin, the boxer. lie w' s i r e c i i conipanied by another person, whom he dese riu o f as his brother ; when they arrived at the a1 4 , n 0 destination, the prosecutor found that he ha d r b ia his notes, which he recollected taking out ° I 46 pocket at Nottinghill, to look for the tar° l3 o ticket. The prisoner produced three ofahe 0° at the public-house at Ealing. In his defence, he put in a paper, which V tl o that he found tour notes 'at the bottom cep, coach, which he conceived be was obliged t ° t n d to deliver up to the Commissioners of kla e ' c ot, Coaches, or subject himself to a penalty o ,f the and therefore he did not produce them until et' prosecutor demanded them. Several mo st resP e fo r able witnesses gave him an excellent characteroil honesty. His master, Caleb Baldwin, con cur in their testimony. in O E The Jury, after consulting some time, to the prisoner Guilty, but recommended I''` l mercy, on account, as they said, of his o°l'7• dinary good chatacter." g OO P Thomas Dover, a boy of about twelve yea r s o f was found Guilty of breaking th e window " gi g s Mr, Fox, in the Haymarket, andsteahog a Ft value 7s. 1300 /11 , CHAUNTING HOItSES.—John C-hristopher • a person of some notoriety as a horse.dealer'rtias indicted for feloniously stealing a warrant payment of 631. the property of Captain R. N. A second count charged the prisoner fat stealing from the prosecutor two Bank the payment of 501. each, and three ll' notes. I ,o l°l , It appeared from' the opening of -Mr. and the evidence in the case, that the 1 111 ;4i0 1 " ' who was very smartly dressed on the oc e g oo' , was one of those advertising horse-deale rg er tise oi - money called " Chaunters," whose ad v o tiO rr . ments in the newspapers present a very description of the cattle for sale. Jo a " s"'o. oris e# an advertisement of this description, the , , i f tutor, Captain Clarke, brother-in-law "tpar Free, the banker, sent his groom to th e i ,oo s Inn, Fleet-market, where the latter wa s I ° o o ,l bay mare, by a groom named Giblen, prr i it was agreed to purchase the animal 'at 0001,1 of sixty guineas, with a warranty of perf ect be r e ' ness, and two days'trial, or the money to r ,, efr a • turned. On the sth instant the rosec ut° ; „o o ; vant attended at the Angel Inn, with' an to pay the money into the hands of the intsAo I" 1l; was iniroduced to the prisoner, wlj ° ,. f o r f h b , was the master of the inn, and a cb ee " money was paid into his hands , r f tw groom, giving a receipt for- the tio ne) ;‘o l /: mare was then driven Oat of the in" - Y d s he she had not gone many paces befor e 5 . 1 01 o i found to be dead lame, and utterly useleswe'r, sequent inquiry was made for the P ris ,; is cot e r; ‘ ,. he was not to be found, and it Was A a l r i g that he was not the master of the ' 11 " (I! • diz te He was afterwards apprehended and 10 def the felony. tt ',Wl*/ . el The COMMON SERGEANT was or 01 1 g", r ow; 1 . 0 the circumstances of the case, that an: Ei the r: o for felony could not be sustained, an d directed an acquittal 1,„11(11141, NEW KENT GAOL—This stopentlOUs c,""oppai .which of the hind is by tar the largest in f i c " o rre 6 , ti.onnoi‘sir Hite qnearly finished,e otltpletaeltild; is the i p e Hoes cte d e : 0 / 1- ,11:9 0 cc . pteti by prisoners in the course of a fe w " i 4 t ,' e °:s Naw LORD MAYoß.— Rumour anio;idierte, t Ala n ri t e e Ke n ti c iN l o e si d i otoonp the Civic -i t ro) h a e iar r a e t ru lt l i t ) : e : ii i ‘psi i p ,:9 o s l pod. :l; derman stands next in rotatioYn. ; it ` 5 ,,,0' r t0 . to place Alderman CloonttEngtts in ° before him. kiecol l BIRTHS. LaOdyn of e rs i d t a e y v ,. I B 7 a t t li te i n n 2 st r a it!t, troafilichyebt.,"%::::v.,o. It , On, of a Son. the 19th inst. in Jan - pp-street , the Vet Sinclair, of a daughter. ------------'.. 13 o#e el hti -f Or AI Aliti.ll o ". Jo n i On Friday last, at Clapham Church, the i te , v. f,sq . if to Eleanor, second daughter of John 13urr n0 „, PI , 4 1 ham, Surrey. noth'ool' Calcutta, Lately, t a u t L Sl ;dia Clement tln.rd ' sLIZ Church, 1 0 " t; il c l i i a i a nt rie '", coc , Lambeth. i O t t ' Ap DIED. . 1 • t. •• I t he - 1 ..6 • it itrii, rr Sucre) , d 000 0 On the 16th inst. a t Asliteacl park, of her age, the Hon. Frances, wife of Rich° . s tet t° ~.,"4 daughter f William Viscount Andover, au cl i • sant r S t? tet t the Twelfth Eat' Suffolk . e 3 ir / 3 o fitg On Thursday night, at . 11i's scat at Utthigllijieli,f the !. Lincolnshire, aged 74, the Right H vil * r." . • Inn ej- 0 4 E xvi a ,ea r 4l l i,n o vol f ern L t tiiin,urflssijoei.yrur,,e,tay,,Gaanegdneedir4ao7l;ie.nr n t ( h ) r e O A f r c nil i s 'i se i rD ) o o ntr a ily it On the 16t11 inst. Samuel Brandon, ct. - s c R LONDON: wp s , o f Printed N 0 Ctl e : .---_,--- Ow, assile...!..- - 4 10, 4 ga r 0 r Di , , j u Ormond-street, Queen-squat and p - e et, 13- ti ".' Ottice, No. 112, Strand ; where Adfer„.cJ. Letters, Sec, (post - raid) mint adarc" .1)::..sBou• t(-17:11tSTAI ,:bli,pt froal, jni INI and-stitiscol, 1 , 0 f , 1 1 ~ T' Von !'n .111 tl niut, 41